Don't Give Up
by pa1ntap1cture
Summary: After the vicious murders that took two of their own, Negan sees something he can use against the Alexandria Safe Zone for leverage. He takes Daryl hostage promising his safety as long as they cooperate but after finding out the man's flaws and seeing a challenge to break him, Rick receives a gift from Negan when the Saviors come for the first drop... a working video camera.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNINGS!**

 **This story will contain strong language, graphic violence, references and or scenes of child abuse.**

* * *

"Dammit Dwight hold the fuck and stop being such a pussy!" Negan's booming voice echoed when it bounced off the walls of the stone walls in the dark room, as he watched his henchman struggle to drag their wounded captive through the doorway.

Daryl was twisting and writhing trying to break the younger man's hold underneath his armpits while he dragged him across the floor.

"Lemme go you sick sonuvabitch!"

The younger man shot Negan a heated glare but one sharp look reminded Dwight what would happen if he tried to argue with anything his leader said.

Negan had to admit he was impressed with this man… well that was obvious when he decided to take take him hostage.

He rolled his eyes and let out an irritated huff as he waited beside the door ready to close it behind the two.

Finally Dwight was close enough to the door that he was able to shove the redneck forward into the room causing him to stumble on his feet.

The Savior leader let out a scoff and stuck forward a long leg that sent Daryl crashing to the floor when he tripped over it and a string of slurred curses and angry yells erupted when the redneck crashed face first onto the cold unforgiving stone surface.

Dwight rushed into the room and Negan slammed the heavy door behind him turning to their hostage that the blond was already trying trying to pin the man to the ground to fasten a pair of zip ties around his wrists.

Negan made his way over to them boots thudding against the stone with each step til he stopped in front of where Daryl's head lay snarling and spitting out profanities.

The blond finally got the man's hands secured behind him and leaned backwards for a moment on the back of the redneck's legs to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand still panting hard from the struggle.

Daryl's eyes were darting around the room clearly looking for an exit causing Negan's eyes to darken despite the devious smile that played upon his lips.

His henchman rose to his feet and spat a wad of blood onto the ground turning back to his leader who gave him a dismissive wave.

"I think me and this ballsy little fuck need to have some one on one time."

Dwight didn't even wait to be called back or ask if Negan wanted anything before he left, he hated the man that much was very clear and the one thing he wanted was to get away from the colossal douchebag.

Once the blond had disappeared slamming the door on the way out Negan let out a low whistle under his breath.

"Ya know… I think me and that little shit are gonna have a talk about manners later." the man spoke kneeling down beside his unwilling and obviously agitated guest.

Daryl glared up at him letting out a small huff with the rush of air that exhaled through his nostrils.

Negan's smirk disappeared as he reached down to tangle his fist into the redneck's dark hair pulling upwards until he'd forced the man to his knees.

"Now, Daryl wasn't it? I suppose the million-dollar question is what the fuck do I do with you?"

Blue eyes continued to glare him defiantly and watched the man's jaw tighten as he tried to contain all that anger that was simmering just under the skin.

He cocked his head slightly to the side with an eyebrow lifted in question. "Fuck son, you sure were biting and snarling at anything that came within a few inches earlier."

"Ain't got nothing to say." Daryl snarled through grit teeth.

The loud booming laugh that rumbled deep from the back Negan's throat actually startled the younger man at first if the flinch was anything to go by.

Once the man composed himself he flashed that charming smile that masked something so sinister.

"Sure you do, but if not me certainly to Lucille. Oh my, did you see the way my dirty girl bashed your friends' heads in!? Prick looked like he was bout to add shit into those piss-filled pants of his, cryin' like a little bitch because I broke his little family. Took your shit and gave it to Blondie out there."

When Daryl continued to remain quiet Negan frowned in disapproval, he hated being ignored and that was something that was not going to fly with him.

Just when he was about to confront the matter the redneck started to speak, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

Irritated and impatient he rolled his eyes, "What? I didn't hear you, speak up for me."

"Yeah, got somethin' to say."

Negan knelt down again letting his hand slip from Daryl's hair to hold him upright with one large hand pressing against his chest and leaned a little closer looking at him expectantly waiting for him to speak.

With two swift movements Daryl landed a successful violent headbutt to the fucker's face, striking him directly in the nose which gave a sickening crack as the cartilage gave way and painted Negan's face in crimson rivets.

The man let out a grunt biting down the initial shout of pain that had tried to escape, he fell backwards landing on his ass with a loud 'oof'.

Daryl threw his weight backwards so he could use his legs as leverage to put as much distance as he could between the man and himself.

It didn't take long for the man to be on his feet again advancing towards Daryl who was still trying to back up and was now shouting at him angrily as he continued to advance on him.

"You little brat, I'm gonna make you wish you hadn't done that." he snarled bitterly.

"Y'all messin' with the wrong people ya stupid sac of shit! Y'aint ever gonna break us! Not Rick, not them, and you sure as hell ain't gonna break me you sick sonuvabitch! Sure ya took Glenn and Abraham but we ain't broken, I grew up around men like you mo'fucker! If I still had that grenade launcher I'd blow you and all y'all into pieces!"

Negan's approach halted at the last part and stood there and stared at the Survivor who sat there panting from his hollering with his face flushed a light pink with anger despite all the blood loss.

Daryl's angry eyes locked on his as he stared up at his shocked expression.

As he registered what the redneck just hinted at his bewilderment morphed to a fierce rage.

He was pleased to see Daryl's eyes strike up a mix of horror when he was immediately zoning in on him.

Once he was able he grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled hard hurling the man hick onto his belly facedown on the floor.

The younger man could sense that he'd set him off now, he'd think him stupid if he didn't and boy did he start to try to put up a fight.

Kicking, twisting, jerking, heaving all his weight against him when he grabbed hold of the back of his sleeveless shirt to yank him to his feet.

He pulled on the scruff of his collar trying to hoist him onto his feet but instead a loud 'shrrrriiiip' filled the room as the fabric gave way after Daryl tried to throw all his weight forward.

All at once the fighting stopped and Negan could see the smaller body visibly tense as his skin was exposed to the cold air of the room.

It didn't take Negan long to see why.

"Oh.. oh my look at these..."

Daryl didn't miss the mischievous playful tone to the man's voice that sent a bolt of dread sparking through his entire being.

 _'Oh shit!'_

He felt the man run a cold hand over one of the larger scars on his lower back making him shiver.

"I know what these are… looks like you did grow up around men like me."

"Ge'off me!"

The last thing Daryl saw before his eyes went black was Negan's boot flying directly at his face.

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Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

Note: The _**bold italics**_ mean it was in the video.

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Rick's mouth went dry as Negan walked up to him that charming smile plastered all over his face.

"What's the matter Prick? You sure don't look happy to see me."

 _'What's the matter? What the fuck is the matter? Oh I don't know, just the fact that you murdered two of my men in cold blood and now we are all trying to comfort a pregnant grieving widow whilst trying to cope with the loss ourselves. Four of my people have vanished and I have no clue where they are. On top of that you took my 'right-hand man' hostage and I don't know if he's alive or fucking dead.'_

"Something you wanna say? Fuck man, don't be shy I'm not gonna bite you."

Negan's voice had snapped him back to reality and he finally gathered up the courage to ask the question he had been reluctant to ask in fear of angering the Savior leader.

"D-Daryl...?"

Rick was surprised when Negan's face lit up with a sort of excitement and he turned his back to him so he could trot back to the old jeep he'd shown up in.

He watched Negan open the passenger's side door and dig around in the glove box his lips were moving as he muttered softly to himself.

Eventually he pulled out a medium sized box that he struggled to get out of the compartment that was built in the dash and Rick knew if the circumstances were different and the world hadn't been what it was today, a few years ago he'd laugh and scold this man for trying to fit something of that size in the fucking glove compartment.

Negan walked back to him with long brisk strides courtesy of his legs, legs that Rick knew at one time he'd be jealous of. He was by no means short but god sometimes he wished he had a few extra inches to reach some things.

Make his life a lot easier personally.

The man outstretched an arm offering the box to him and Rick just stared at it in absolute horror as the evil fucker's chilling words from before jumped into his head.

 _'I will cut pieces off of Daryl and put them on your doorstep - or, better yet, I will bring him to you and have you do it for me.'_

"O-Oh god… but we did what you asked-"

A loud booming laugh rumbled from Negan's throat, "You give me too much credit. Nope, I got a present for you. Thought you might like to know how that ballsy little fuck is doing?"

With shaking hands Rick accepted the box from the asshole and stood there silently, not knowing if he wanted to open it or not. One look at Negan told him that the man expected him to so he started to open it with equally shaking fingers.

He closed his eyes when he reached in, trying to keep his gag reflex ready in case his fingers felt the stickiness of blood or the cold flesh of a severed limb.

To his surprise he felt something hard and smooth something he could tell wasn't from a body.

Hesitantly he removed the object and was immediately staring in shock and nothing short of dread as he pulled out an old cam-corder.

"Yeah! That fucker still works too! Got new batteries in it, you have no fucking idea how hard it was to come across a prize like this man. Shit, was just beginners fucking luck I think. It has something on it for you."

Rick's whole body was trembling now he had no idea what he was going to see and he had a feeling he didn't want to.

"Aw Prick, you're fuckin' shaking if you don't wanna watch it alone just fuckin' say so. I'll watch that shit with you here let's sit down." Negan mocked moving behind Rick to grab him by his shoulders and steer him over to one of the old picnic tables near the sidewalk.

He sat the younger man down and then dropped into the seat beside him making the old wood of the bench groaned under the abrupt weight being thrown onto it.

Negan took the camera from Rick's hands and fiddled with it for a moment moving the selection up and down til he came to one particular video file before pushing it back into Rick's shaking hands.

Rick flinched when the man's muscular arm wrapped around his shoulders while he leaned over to watch the video with him, but he didn't dare move no matter how uncomfortable or infuriating the gesture was to him.

The video started and the very first thing he saw was Daryl he was sitting in the corner of a dimly lit room, knees drawn up to his chest with his arms slumped over the top of them resting his chin on top of muscular arms as he brooded quietly.

His face was covered in bruises and his shirt has been removed which made Rick cringe momentarily as he saw all the man's scars that caused the redneck so much pain and a lot of insecurity. He knew the man had to be feeling utterly humiliated and uncomfortable without being able to cover the flaws on his body.

Rick had to admit he was pleased to see the bandages that were wrapped tightly around his chest and shoulder where he'd been shot.

 _'At least they gave him medical attention…'_

Judging by the complete steadiness of the camera Rick assumed that it had been set up so that Negan didn't have to worry about it while it was recording.

He swallowed as he noticed the old bloodstains that littered the floor and walls this clearly was where many poor souls had drawn their last breath.

 _'And Daryl is in the same place…'_ he thought silently.

 ** _"Well aren't you going to fucking say hello? Camera's rolling. Yeah. I'm pretty fucking sure Sheriff Prick would want to hear from you."_**

Daryl lifted his head from its resting spot and glared at the camera in irritation.

 ** _"Whatever... hey Rick did you know that this sick sumbitch is a real asshole?"_**

Rick heard Negan whistle lowly clearly unimpressed. **_"If I were in your shoes hick, I would watch your mouth in front of my girl here, she's pretty protectiv-"_**

He watched as his brother shifted his weight away from the wall leaning on his arms as he sat forward with a disgusted look on his face.

 ** _"Good lord ya stupid sac of shit, y'all do us all a favor and shove yer ol' girl Lucille up yer mother fuckin' ass! It's a bat for christ's sake!"_**

A look of surprise flashed onto Daryl's face not even moments after the words left his mouth the sound of Negan's boots echoed with some static as the camera kept rolling. Sure enough it wasn't even seconds later that Rick saw the man come into the view of the recording grabbing a handful of Daryl's hair pulling him to his knees.

Daryl delivered a brutal punch to Negan's jaw and a follow up to his temple that made the man loose his balance with a growl of rage and fall to the floor.

Rick watched with horrified eyes as his brother made a mad bolt for the door located on the left side of the room.

Finding it locked Daryl kicked the steel door in frustration.

 ** _"Y'all sick mother fuckers! Best lemme out of here!"_**

Negan was already on his feet and he tackled the redneck around the waist with a roar of fury, Daryl was slammed against the steel door forehead colliding with the unforgiving surface as they slid down and onto the floor.

He watched as Daryl just laid there for a moment dazed under brutal collision with his skull, Negan took his vulnerability to drag him over to an old work bench.

Daryl tried to struggle against him but his head was reeling to the point that he couldn't really do much but twitch pitifully as his mind tried to get back into focus.

Negan bound his hands to one of the support legs with a pair of zip ties keeping the man down on his stomach with no way to get up.

 ** _"Here, maybe you can make use of that mouth and suck on this for a while."_**

Rick watched as Negan pulled a revolver out of the holster on his side, made sure all six chambers were loaded before bracketing Daryl's slim hips further pinning his body to the cold floor.

He reached around the front Daryl's face with his gloved hand and started to pry his mouth open despite Daryl's radiating defiance as he tried to keep his lips tightly pressed together.

Eventually Negan resorted to grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling as hard as he could til Daryl cried in protest giving him the opportunity to shove the barrel of the gun past thinned lips and down his throat til he started to gag causing Negan to chuckle as he rose to his feet behind his brother.

 ** _"Easy boy, that thing's loaded if I were you you little shit, I wouldn't move too much unless you want to give me a beautifully red redneck motherfuckin' fireworks display?"_**

Daryl growled lowly as he tugged at the restraints holding him down.

 ** _"You're a ballsy lil' fuck, I admit I do like that. However, I most certainly will motherfucking not take that crap. No one, and I mean no one talks about my Lucille like that, that shit ain't fucking cool man. Yeah. Honestly if you were anyone fucking else… shit I'd probably fucking turn her loose on you or blow your brains out."_**

Negan placed his hands on his hips as he stared down at the struggling man by his feet.

 ** _"But I like you, and I think I know just how to get through to you that shit like that isn't going to fly around here."_**

Rick watched Negan's hand move to his pants and his blood ran cold when he heard the sound of a belt being undone then watched as it was pulled free from its belt loops.

That was when he had to turn away, he couldn't watch anymore. His hands had started to tremble and he looked up from the video camera to look at the man beside him with a look of pure disbelief.

Negan glanced over meeting his eye challenging, just waiting for the man to make a wrong move. He knew it would come.

And come it did.

"You bastard! I'm going to kill you for this!" Rick roared tears running down his face as he dropped the camera into the soft grass and tackled Negan onto the sidewalk.

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Stay tuned! As always feel free to let me know what you think of it!


	3. Chapter 3

**~ Two Days Earlier ~**

Oh he had something nice planned for the Alexandria Survivors, they hadn't heard any word nor even a whisper of their redneck friend since he'd had him brought home with them a week ago.

The first night he got there he'd passed out from blood loss so he had Sherry patch him up enough that he wasn't going to kick the bucket.

Even then he'd slept for two fucking days due to exhaustion.

Then of course he had to deal with his group fucking whining at him about how unfair this shit was and blah blah blah.

In fact the first time he'd met their guest he'd been busy as shit with other things and holy fuck was he pissed when Simon and Dwight interrupted him in the middle of the night when he was getting a piece of ass from one of his wives, the pretty little brunette that was oh so shy.

The boys were having a hard time getting the man under control now that he'd awoken and was throwing a temper tantrum about having to be here.

Negan decided to move the man if he was well enough to cause that much of a problem then he was fucking fine. His injuries were fucking fine.

When the three of them tried to corner the man in the bolted shut infirmary he had to admit the feisty little shit impressed the hell out of him. He had stood there and observed for a while he expected his followers to do that shit for him so he didn't have to get his hands dirty all the time. Initially he'd thought that his presence alone would intimidate the redneck but it did the complete opposite.

No, it made him even angrier and he fought Dwight and Simon for a few minutes before he managed to daze the blond and then pinned Simon to the ground.

He beat the holy fuck out of his right hand man and it wasn't until he heard Dwight insist that he not stand there and do nothing, which by the way he punished him for that tone later, that he stepped in delivering one kick in the back of Daryl's head with his booted foot knocking him sideways and off the older man.

Daryl then made the choice in trying to attack him, HIM, the guy who bashed two of his buddies fucking heads in like god damned watermellons. The ballsy little shit.

Oh he put that shit down right away, slamming him into the ground only to lift him up under the armpits locking their limbs together in order to restrain him. From there on he had Dwight drag the ornery fuck to this room.

Then he let the man sit there and brood for a couple days after his first confrontation and now here he was off to see their little redneck prisoner again.

He came to the heavy steel door down the hall where Daryl had been staying and made work of the lock before entering being sure to close it behind him since he knew it locked automatically.

Negan hoisted the strap of the bag he'd been carrying further onto his shoulder twirling Lucille in his other hand as he whistled a soft happy tune.

Across the room he felt Daryl's eyes turn their attention to him upon entry but he made no attempt to move away from his spot against the wall instead he just watched him silently.

"Hi. You fuckin' miss me?" he asked shooting the smaller man that charming smile.

When he got no answer he started emptying the contents of the bag on top of a table located on the opposite wall from where Daryl was sitting.

He was so pleased when he'd found this a few years ago though who the fuck had time for a god damn hobby in the zombie apocalypse? He didn't really have a use for it much to his dismay but hey he could make good use of the camera now! Maybe send a message to Rick, in fact that's exactly why he'd come here today.

Let Rick watch what happens when you break a man who everyone thought unbreakable. Though, he could clearly see Daryl was already broken and the crack had caused the remnants to strengthen in order to resist. It was clearly a mechanism he used to keep himself from breaking completely.

Until to – fucking – day.

"For such a sassy liltle shit, you sure don't talk much."

Still no response.

That kind of pissed him off a bit, who the fuck did this redneck piece of trash think he was?

He took a deep breath to cool down before beaming brightly as he set the camera up.

"Man, look what I found! Can you believe it?! A god damned motherfucking video camera, do you know how fucking long it's been since I've seen one of these fuckers! God forbid one that fucking works too!? Woah. Jesus, it's been fucking years!"

Again silence.

Negan huffed and turned around to face the man leaning against the table as he tapped his chin in thought.

"You know, I figured maybe I should let Prick and those sorry shits back in Alexandria know how you're doing. He's been whining like a bitch, Daryl, Daryl, please don't hurt him noo."

Daryl almost snorted in amusement as the man's deep voice changed to a whiny squeal as he mocked his friend.

Almost.

He was still fucking irate as hell.

The older man rolled his eyes in irritation as he set the camera up and pressed record, the moved out of the way to lean against the stone wall.

"Well aren't you going to fucking say hello? Camera's rolling. Yeah. I'm pretty fucking sure Sheriff Prick would want to hear from you."

Finely he received a response, a small growl of irritation as the redneck lifted his head off his arms and glared at him hatefully. "Whatever... hey Rick did you know that this sick sumbitch is a real asshole?"

 _'That little fucker is asking for it.'_

He let out a small whistle before shooting Daryl a sharp look. "If I were in your shoes hick, I would watch your mouth in front of my girl here, she's pretty protectiv-"

Daryl moved forward slightly and Negan was sure at first that he was going to try to get up but instead he just leaned forward propping himself so he was leaning on his arms.

There was a vein throbbing against his temple as his temper flared.

"Good lord ya stupid sac of shit, y'all do us all a favor and shove yer ol' girl Lucille up yer mother fuckin' ass! It's a bat for Christ's sake!"

It was cute until then. Right there, that was where he drew the line.

He quickly started to make his way over to the man who startled in surprise at finally succeeding in goading him into not fucking around.

With one hand he reached down and grabbed a fistful of his dark brown greasy hair yanking hard, the redneck's hands shot up to his wrist desperately clawing at the flesh as he hissed in pain.

Using the man's hair as leverage he started to force Daryl up to his knees only to be surprised when Daryl landed a left hook to his jaw causing him to stumble back a bit and a brutal right cuff hit him in the temple before he could regain his footing and now with his world spinning like a top he couldn't even stop his body from tipping sideways as he crashed to the floor on his side.

Daryl knew he'd done it now, and to be flat out fucking honest he really didn't feel like waiting to see what the man would do. After the first time he'd seen the man he had a gut feeling that he'd gotten off really lucky, the only thing he'd really done is pulled his hair, dragged him around, a few backhands and shit, as soon as he'd seen his scars he'd left him alone and he'd not seen him since that night.

Knowing what he'd done to Glenn and Abraham, having seen it with his own eyes he didn't want to find out.

Plus, he needed to get back to his family. Back home. He couldn't fucking stay here, he wouldn't make it out!

The redneck was trying to scramble to his hands and knees working to get to his feet which didn't take him very long.

He made a mad dash to the heavy steel door and pulled furiously at the handle.

It wouldn't budge.

 _'Oh shit! It's locked from the other side! God dammit!'_

Frustration made his blood boil over and he kicked the door out of rage, then slammed a fist against its surface angrily. "Y'all sick mother fucker's! Best lemme out of here!"

Instead he heard snickering in the hallway behind the door and if that didn't make him want to slaughter someone it was pretty damn close!

An angered shout reached his ears not even seconds before a heavy weight slammed into his smaller body making him fall forward when he lost his footing.

The initial grunt he let out morphed to a yelp of pain as his forehead collided with the heavy steel door before he collided with the ground with a force that knocked all the oxygen from his lungs with an audible 'hufff' from his lips.

Oh god that blow had him seeing stars! He felt like he was going to pass out. No! He couldn't pass out he had to get away! Unfortunately all he could do was lay there and gasp for air. He couldn't focus on shit even though instincts were screaming at him to move his ass and get off the floor his limbs wouldn't listen in his dazed state.

Large hands wrapped around his wrists and he hissed at the sharp sting of the stone floor scrapping his stomach and chest as he was dragged across the floor over to the work bench that he recalled had several maniacal bladed tools on it's surface earlier.

Negan was growling lowly as they moved his hands crushing his wrists in a grip that he knew as going to leave nasty bruises later.

Daryl watched helplessly as the Savior leader placed his wrists up against a bench leg and fastened them there with a zip tie that he tightened until he actually saw blood trickling down his wrists.

The older man glared down at the redneck still reeling from the blow, he was absolutely shaking with fury.

No one talked about his girl like that! Everyone had their own way of coping with loss and Lucille was anything but just a bat to him.

The feisty little shit had a mouth on him that much was clear.

He placed his hands on his hips in irritation his hand brushing up against the gun holster on his left side and his scowl fell when an idea came to him.

Digging into his pocket for bullets with one hand and drawing his revolver with the other he took a moment to make sure all six chambers were loaded.

"Here, maybe you can make use of that mouth and suck on this for a while."

Head starting to clear up now Daryl tugged angrily at the plastic holding him in place ignoring how the sharp sides dug further into his skin causing more blood to drip down his wrists and forearms. Trying to see what the sick fucker was up as he tried to glance over shoulder but the position made that nearly impossible.

Negan straddled Daryl from behind letting himself settle on top of the redneck's lower back, said redneck didn't seem to like that much because he started wiggling and writhing letting out angered grunts and low curses.

He reached around the front of the smaller man's head trying to get a good grip on his jaw so he could force the little shit's mouth open.

By now he really wasn't surprised when the younger male resisted insistently keeping his lips pursed tightly together as he jerked his head to this side then that side in attempts to get his hand off his face.

Oh he loved it when they squirmed it made him feel powerful so he enjoyed tormenting the man for a few moments before he decided to get back to business and yanked on dark hair as hard as he could until he drew forth a pained cry from the southerner.

That was all the opportunity he needed to shove the barrel of the gun into the man's mouth shoving it forward until the smaller body jerked roughly and he heard the man gagging around the metal.

With the panic that had worked up his senses it seemed to take the redneck a moment to register what he'd just shoved into his mouth but once he did all movement ceased immediately.

"Easy boy, that things loaded. If I were you little shit, I wouldn't move too much unless you want to give me a beautifully red redneck motherfuckin' fireworks display?"

 _'Fucking asshole.'_ Daryl thought quietly to himself as he tugged at his wrists some more.

He froze however when he felt Negan run warm fingers over his back tracing some scars before he stood upright again. 'I know what'll get this little shit riled up.'

"You're a ballsy lil' fuck! I admit I do like that. However, I most certainly will motherfuckin' not take that crap. No one, and I do mean no one talks about my Lucille like that, that shit ain't fucking cool man. Yeah. Honestly if you were anyone fucking else… shit I'd probably fucking turn her loose on you or blow your brains out."

Negan cocked an eyebrow and he let his hands rest on his hips for a moment when he heard the man growl at him around the barrel of the gun.

 _'Jesus! This guy right here is like a fucking animal!'_

The last thought caused a mischievous smile to pull at his lips.

 _'...and animals can be tamed.'_

"But I like you and I think I know just how to get through to you that shit like that isn't going to fly around here." he lowered his hands down to his belt and started to fiddle with the buckle.

When he saw Daryl's ears perk at the noise his grin widened and he knelt beside the Survivor resting a large hand on top of dark greasy locks before starting to speak softly. "Woah. Yeah, you know what that noise is don't you? I'm guessing you have daddy to thank for that, huh? He wanted to be sure as hell you knew what that sound meant?"

He could see Daryl's jaw shifting as he ground his teeth against the metal in frustration.

Entertained by the clear sign that his goading about his personal life was getting to the smaller man he of course being the nice guy that he was, decided to play counselor.

Negan walked around to the other side of the workbench until he was in Daryl's line of view being sure that the younger man could see the belt dangling from his right hand as he did so.

Daryl was absolutely livid his sore body that he knew would be hurting a hell of a lot worse if he wasn't filled with adrenaline was shaking with rage as he glared up at the man with piercing blue eyes.

 _'I'm going to tear you to pieces you sick fuck.'_ he thought bitterly as he tried to brace himself for the first strike that he had a feeling was going to come real soon… but it didn't.

No, instead he watched as the older man settled his lanky body onto the ground with his legs crossed in front of him.

"Yeah, my guess is you weren't the only one daddy beat on huh? Siblings? Perhaps he liked to rough up the little lady."

Something inside Daryl just snapped and he tried to jerk forward managing to get one leg tucked underneath his body in attempts to get to his knees despite the strain it put on his wrists.

Negan's eyebrows knit tightly together when his amber colored eyes narrowed in disapproval. The more and more he was fascinated by the man's spirit the more he found himself getting pissed off.

With a snarl his right arm shot out to tangle in the redneck's dark locks yanking hard until his neck was straining painfully as he glared into his fierce blue eyes.

He wasn't at all surprised that he didn't halt his struggles by the action but either way he needed to get into little fuck's head that he was in charge here and he would do whatever he fucking told him or he'd take Lucille to his god damned skull if he was too stupid to comprehend something so simple.

Negan set the belt down to let his hand fingers grace upon the hammer of the gun that he'd so cruelly shoved down his throat that he was honestly a bit surprised with the angle of his neck that he wasn't choking.

Either the man had a good gag reflex or that adrenaline was doing him wonders because instead he was finding himself observing flaring nostrils as he breathed through his nose at a moderate pace.

Two sets of eyes were locked on each other.

One a pair of steely blue full of so much anger, determination, and hatred with an accent of sorrow and the faintest of fear that one might as well not even acknowledge it.

The other a brace of deep amber filled with a circus of things; frustration, mirth, strength, and a fierce authoritative fire.

An audible click echoed in the room when Negan cocked the pistol with the faintest brush of his fingers.

Even then the redneck's struggles didn't cease and to be god damned fucking honest that did surprise the Savior leader.

 _'This boy is fearless! Fixing that might be a bit more difficult than I thought.'_

He gripped the gun tightly and pushed it forward yanking on the man's hair til his body was twitching as he tried to resist the agonizing strain on his neck. At the same time he was trying not to choke on the intruding metal being shoved further down his throat making his eyes water.

Despite the overwhelmingly uncomfortable position the older man could still both see and feel the Alexandrian trying to free himself and pull away.

Although he was absolutely fascinated by the man's strength, his patience was running thin and he lowered his own body onto the ground just so that he could glare into those furious eyes challengingly.

"If you don't stop your damn squirming in about three seconds, I swear to the shit-pissing creators you brat, I will beat the everloving fuck out of you so fucking bad that you'll think the next walker you lay your eyes on is a motherfucking gift from god so you don't have to continue living your miserable life pissing blood caused from any possible, and very well may be if you keep it up, internal injuries."

After a brief pause the man did something that took the Savior leader by surprise when he jerked his head forward against his hand rewarding him with garbled cry of pain that made it's way around the gun when the harsh metal punctured something in his throat.

Having been mesmerized by the small whine of pain and intrigued by the redneck's stupid stunt, the savior leader was even more surprised when Daryl yanked his face to the side when his grip on his hair had loosened and somehow managed to jerk the gun from his hand.

However that wasn't was awed him, not completely. What did shock him was the fact that with the proximity of their faces the rebellious action made the grip strike his jaw and unfortunately he bit down on his tongue in the process.

Negan was still trying to register what happened by the time he realized his head had snapped to the side from the blow and he was staring at Lucille lying next to him where he'd set her down.

Daryl laid there glaring hatefully at the man, but there was a small twinkle of triumph when he heard Negan let out a sharp hiss of pain as he watched the bastard lay there in front of him looking at the ground, mouth hanging open blessing him with a view of the damage he'd given the man's tongue.

His normally pretty much perfect teeth that could form such a debonair grin painted red with blood and more crimson dribbling over his bottom lip as his mouth filled with blood.

There was a formidable pause filled with absolute silence before slowly moved his head back to face him, Daryl knew right when he saw the look in the crazy man's eyes that he was done playing.

His hand darted out to snatch the gun from his mouth ripping it out none to gently but he managed to swallow the sharp cry that almost escaped him. Christ that fucking hurt!

A sharp backhand made his head smash into the metal leg of the workbench and he was left reeling for a few seconds.

When a sharp yank on his hair had him looking into Negan's infuriated eyes as the man picked up his belt, he knew he was in trouble.

Negan had gotten to his feet taking the belt with him and Daryl knew what was coming next.

As soon as the man's boots vanished from his line of sight when he maneuvered around behind him, no matter how hard Daryl tried he could not shake the panic and overwhelming anger as he found himself waiting for something that was so presciently familiar to him after all these years.

"You should already know and if you still don't hopefully, fucking hopefully for your sake, this'll paint the picture clear as fucking day, I'm very much a man of my word." the Savior leader hissed dangerously.

When Daryl heard the familiar 'woosh' that he knew by both instinct and experience so very well, he took a deep breathe as he attempted to brace himself.

Unwelcome images of his old man's various 'lessons' flashed through his head.

Him eight years old two weeks after Merle was sent to the juvenile hall, he had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for his dad to get home from the store he'd said he was gonna go get groceries so they could eat tonight. The abrupt loud banging noise that had startled him awake at four in the morning, the crooked silhouette of a tall man standing in the doorway for a moment before coming inside. The old man had looked like he'd been in a fight and he could smell the booze on him clear across the living room. It was the first time the man had beaten him with the belt, he learned that night not try not to ask unnecessary questions and that he was on his own now.

Twelve years old he spent the the week after his twelfth birthday at Uncle Jess's because his dad had beaten him into a bloody pulp and went on a week long trip leaving him by himself. He'd been laying there for two days with a broken leg and three broken ribs and when Jess came to check on him he was unconscious and dehydrated.

When he turned fourteen that was when Will Dixon got the meanest. During their sessions he now expected him to be absolutely silent. If he yelled, screamed, whimpered, any sort of noise he'd prolong the beating and he'd get more and more aggressive. It was twice as bad if he cried.

The thoughts alone were getting him emotional and Daryl bit down on his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. He cursed himself for being such a pussy when he caught himself trembling for a brief moment.

 _'Ain't gonna make a sound. Don't make a sound.'_

He took another deep breath just before the first strike scored across his naked back, blue gray eyes went wide in surprise and his body went rigid.

The pain was more excruciating than he'd remembered, but then again he had the luxury of escape from his father's abuse many, many years ago when he turned twenty-one and he learned to fight him off. After all it wasn't a sensation he liked to keep fresh in his mind.

Despite his determination to leave the fucker dissatisfied, he found himself even more disappointed when he registered warm liquid trickling down one of his cheeks.

 _'Maybe the asshole won't notice.'_

"Atta fucking boy Daryl! Yeah. That's what I wanted to see." the man's voice boomed as soon as the thought came to his mind.

 _'Nevermind.'_

His emotions were running wild with literally everything; shame, anger, sadness, humiliation, helplessness, confusion, malignity, anxiety, and guilt. He felt like he was going to go insane!

Out of nowhere the realization of just how long it had been since that last beating hit him hard, more so the reason why they stopped and why he never saw that belt again.

His dad was gone, he'd been killed by them walkers on that hunting trip when it all started.

Then it was Jess... Sophia… Hershel… and Beth.

Not to mention Merle. His only brother, the only one who'd ever given a damn about him before Atlanta.

Abraham… oh god and then Glenn.

The bloody images flashed before his eyes guilt hitting him like a ton of bricks.

 _'It's my fault.'_

It was then that the second strike hit him right in the center of his lower back and he couldn't even stop the soft sob that escaped him.

* * *

I hope you guy's liked this, Ii just felt that it would've been nice to actually see what happened both a bit before, on, and after the bits that were played to Rick on the camera but I tried to add onto it more so it didn't' just seem like the same chapter twice but one version at a different angle.

HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT! Love ya!


	4. Chapter 4

Days.

That's the only way he'd wished to describe it at this point, he didn't know how many or if he'd been here weeks, maybe a month, he didn't really want to count either, so he just set with days.

His body was so sore and he was absolutely exhausted as he hung limply from the wrought iron hook on the wall where his wrists were fastened with some old leather straps.

The feeling of the freezing cold wall that kissed his chest and his belly had become so familiar to him that he honestly couldn't even feel his entire front side.

Blood both very old and some still quite new caked his back from so many brutal beatings and if he chose to look down, Daryl knew he'd see at decent sized pool of blood from the crimson drops that had dripped onto the floor.

A while ago… again he didn't know how many days it were at least three at the minimum his body had finally given out and Negan had told Dwight not to send Sherry in to treat him anymore.

He wouldn't cooperate, wouldn't do a thing he was told to do, and Negan had finely had enough playing around and decided to leave him to hang here and die from starvation, dehydration, or hell quite possibly his wounds, or as the man worded it "Whatever hit the finish line first."

That conversation was very vague in his mind at this point, he couldn't really remember anymore. The only things that he could remember lately was the conversations he'd had with Glenn, Merle, and Abraham earlier today.

All of them angry, frustrated with his failure and the cause of their deaths which was him.

The sounds that would echo through the vast halls of the Savior's complex outside his cell that would cause him several fleeting but intense waves of panic that the man was going to come back to beat him again when all he wanted to do was just wait for the cold touch of death to take him away.

And of course the random shadows that would cast upon the walls in front of his face here and there as people walked outside his cell, sometimes he could see bright blotches of color and occasionally animals swirling in the dark surfaces through his bleary distorted vision.

Sometimes he could hear Rick calling his name, Carol on those rare occasions and he'd feel that spark of hope and try to call out to them only to be frustrated at his own unrecognizable words through the leather that was belted tight over the top of his mouth having been used to stop his screaming in his feverish state.

He shifted his weight a little bit with a small shrill yelp a violent shudder running up his spine as tears pricked at his eyes. The pain was so intense.

Trying his hardest to ignore the pain that ravaged his body Daryl let his forehead rest against the cold stone and closed his eyes, trying not to think, he just wanted to sleep so bad he was so damn tired of hurtin'.

In the background he heard three abrupt bangs and what sounded like yelling but the voices were all muffled he didn't really care, he knew he was probably hearing shit again so he continued to rest his eyes.

He was just about asleep when he heard a rattling noise followed by footsteps that echoed on the stone floor of the room. His eyes shot open and he could see the bright glow of light that flooded from the hallway for a moment before the door closed again.

The footsteps continued towards him and Daryl felt dread coil up in his stomach as sheer disappointment and fear just swallowed him whole while Negan approached him, likely with that sick disgusting smile plastered right on his fucking face waving that bat.

 _'Aw, no fuck! Don't come back! No, please don't come back… just lemme go!'_

 **~ X X X ~**

The distraction had worked and he thanked god quietly for getting this far. He'd set some of the fence alarms on the other side of the Savior's hideout off so that he could try to get a mental mapout of the place in his head.

Scouting. That was his only plan but Jesus couldn't believe what he saw as he passed one door in particular.

In fact he was so shocked that he skid to a halt and did a double take while he stared through the bars on the door.

There was a man hanging by his hands from a hook on the wall he'd been stripped completely nude, but that wasn't even the most disturbing part… his back was nothing but a bloody mess of gaping open wounds from… well he couldn't quite say but it looked as if he'd been whipped… quite severely. He could see two sections with so many overlapping wounds that in the center pearly white bone could be seen through the many layers of beaten skin.

Wait… that dark mop of hair…..

Jesus felt his blood turn to ice and a wave of nausea suddenly hit him.

 _ **'He killed Abaraham… and my husband! H-He took Daryl hostage!'**_

Maggie's words echoed in his head and he swallowed thickly as he slid the bolt that locked the steel door to the other side so he could slip into the small cell.

 _'Oh christ, is that…? No… that can't… please don't let that be….'_

He shut the door carefully and as soon as he started to approach he noticed the body shift a little and could hear the man's breath picking up.

"Daryl?" he called softly heart sinking instantly when the tortured man started to put up what he guessed was a struggle, but really the frantic jerks were sluggish and clumsy almost reminding him of a kitten trying to walk for the first time with the twitchiness of his body.

He could faintly hear small muffled cries from the redneck which caused him to quick his pace over to where the man was bound, it wasn't until he was nearly beside him that he realized that he was gagged.

For a moment Jesus just stood there with his mouth open in total shock, he couldn't believe how bad the man looked not to mention how out of character the man was compared to what he was used to.

 _'Screw the scouting plan!'_

"Hey, hey, shush.. here let me get that off you." he spoke softly reaching his hands up to the back of the man's head to the buckle on the leather that was likely being used to keep the man's screams of pain under control… or maybe his swearing.

The man visibly tensed as soon as he felt the belt around his face loosen and he was trying to twist his face around to investigate the newcomer through the dark haze that surrounded him.

 **~ X X X ~**

Daryl was confused something wasn't right and when he turned around to look up at the unknown party, what he saw made his mouth drop open in horror.

There above him walker with giant horns on his head looking upwards at the wall as it tried to untie him, teeth gnashing together as blood dripped from it's empty eye socket.

 _'No! I didn't want to turn!'_

"Arrgh nooo!" he wailed after finding one last bit of fight in him.

The walker's head snapped toward him the noise having gotten it's attention and Daryl suddenly found the abomination's grayish rotting hand which was a mix of sharp jagged broken fingernails and a missing appendage spurting black blood pressing firmly against his mouth as it hissed angrily at him.

Abruptly the pressure on his hands released and he fell to the floor in a heap. The agonizing pain that shot through his back spread throughout his whole body on impact and the offending hand did it's best to stifle the shout of pain.

Everything hurt and now he was sopping wet with blood that he knew was his own as the beast continued to assault him, he tried to fight but the walker easily overpowered him.

He didn't know where he was hurt or where it bit him all he knew was there was blood all over him and the claws that dug into his cheek as it squeezed his jaws together with such force confirmed that his fate was sealed.

 **~ X X X ~**

 _'Fuck.'_ Jesus mentally cursed as he found himself trying to hold the flailing redneck down, he knew he needed to get him off his back but the man was making it totally unavoidable.

Daryl's eyes were as big as an owl and completely wild with fever. He was agitated, trying to fight back with everything he had left whilst at the same time he could feel the man trying to scream as loud as he could against his hand.

 _'Jesus Christ, he's absolutely terrified.'_

He had no clue how to handle this situation, but he needed to get the man to be quiet before he was discovered.

Keeping one hand over the man's face Paul leaned in and tried to give the man a shake, speaking desperately whilst keeping his voice low.

"Daryl! Hey, you're okay now. You remember me right? It's Paul...er… Jesus… I'm from Hilltop..."

Unfortunately it didn't seem to have any effect on the man as he continued to squeal and fight his movements getting more and more aggressive, and Jesus knew he had to calm him before he hurt himself.

Although, it was too late for that because before Jesus could stop him Daryl's upper body tried to jerk forward only to fall back down just as roughly.

Jesus winced at the thudding noise his body made when it hit the floor again, he knew the rendeck's back was what would be hurting him the most and he couldn't even imagine how that felt, but judging by the his eyes shooting wide open once more a the small croak that escaped the back of his throat, it wasn't good.

Which was why he wasn't all that surprised when the man's eyes rolled into back of his head as he passed out.

Paul let out a small hiss feeling sympathy for the older man, who was clearly in such a bad shape.

Easing off his coat Jesus took a moment to put it over the other man's frame hoping to cover the man's morbid wounds, okay yeah well sure privacy would be another thing but mostly he was concerned about his injuries.

"I guess it's time to take you home then."

 **~ Hilltop (Next Day) ~**

Maggie was woken up abruptly to frantic knocking on the door, panting she looked across the room and saw both she and Sasha had already drawn their guns on instinct unlike Enid who was sitting upright as well looking at the two with alarm.

"What time is it?" Enid asked tiredly glancing out the window revealing a still dark sky.

Sasha followed her gaze and couldn't help but lift an eyebrow, "That's a good question, the sun's not even up yet..."

"Maggie? Are you awake?" Jesus' hushed voice called urgently.

Taking a deep breath realizing where she was Maggie decided to answer the door, with a yawn she stretched and started to wrestle her shirt over her head. "Yeah. Hold on a mom-."

Much to her surprise however she was cut off by the man with a desperate, "Can I come in?"

All three ladies jumped slightly automatically knowing something happened.

"Yes."

The door was quickly pushed open and shut just as fast while he slipped into the room.

He did not look well, that composure that he normally held was rather shaken that much was clear.

Sasha of course saw his tension and tried to lighten the mood if she could, "You better have a good reason for waking us up at four in the morning."

To her surprise he didn't smile, if anything he started to sweat.

Maggie got to her feet quickly concern painting her face as she stared at him, "Paul.. what is it?"

Jesus opened his mouth several times, trying to find the right words and after a few moments and eventually a clear of his throat he managed to force out a meek "Maggie you should come with me."

Sasha eyed the woman's tired figure for a moment and spoke up, "How about I go-"

"No, I-I think this should be Maggie for right now."

The two met each other's eyes and Maggie shrugged before agreeing telling the other two to get some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The last five minutes of unnerving silence that she had endured as she followed the long haired man was starting to get to Maggie.

Jesus hadn't said one word during their entire journey through the stretch of land that was Hilltop.

She had intended to be patient and not ask questions but when the pregnant woman found herself watching the man wordlessly opening the gate to the outside she drew the line.

Halting in her tracks she folded her arms over the front of her chest feet planting into the ground as she glared at him.

"Paul."

Much to her surprise her abruptly spoken voice seemed to make the man start out of his focused trance-like state.

He turned to her with a solemn look upon his face, he was nervous.

"Where are we going? What's happened?"

Jesus stared at her for a long time trying to find the words to say she could see his adam's apple bobbing as he did until finely he spoke in a calm voice. "Just outside the gate, I have a new vehicle outside."

Maggie's jaw dropped open in shock and her eyes soon lit up with anger.

"You stole one of Negan's vehicles?" she hissed quietly trying with all her might to keep her voice down.

Paul swallowed again before offering an affirmative nod.

"You said you were just going to scou-"

"That was my plan." he snapped suddenly cutting her off.

His clipped yet urgent tone struck down all will of want to argue with the man.

Clearly something had happened.

Taking her silence as an invitation to continue, Jesus turned back to the door before muttering a quiet 'I need your help'.

Once the door was open Maggie could see one of the Savior's black jeeps in the shadows lights and engine turned off to keep the dead away while he'd gone to get her.

Jesus pulled out his flashlight and took a moment to make sure the area was clear of any walkers before approaching the back door of the vehicle.

Maggie followed anxiously watching the man's hand hover on the handle for a moment but then he abruptly turned around placing both of his larger hands on her shoulders sincere blue eyes met deep hazel as he took a deep breath.

"I need you to be ready. I know with your condition… I probably should have had Sasha help me with this but… judging by his state and from what I heard about your relationship with him… I-I think you'd be better suited for this."

It didn't take Maggie very long to understand what exactly, or more who, was in the vehicle. She brought a hand up to her mouth as tears of relief started to well up in her eyes, "Daryl?"

Paul nodded hesitantly his eyes were full of sympathy and a seriousness that Maggie knew oh so well.

"He's… not in good shape either and I don't want you to see this but I can't calm him down and if we don't get him to a doctor soon I don't think he'll make it. H-His injuries are bad and I'm surprised he's still alive… fever has already set in."

Maggie closed her eyes at this trying to suppress the emotion that was running through her like fire already unable to hold back her tears at the news. Slowly she gave the man an affirmative nod.

Having gotten the go ahead Jesus turned to the door once more and with a shaky breath opened the door revealing his passenger.

Both of her hands came up to cover her mouth when she gasped at the sight that was brought before her eyes.

Her friend was sprawled across the backseat on his stomach with his hands bound in front of him with what looked like a belt. Small tremors shook his body that was mostly covered by Jesus' trench coat but she could clearly see his bare legs.

The tears that had filled her eyes earlier spilled freely down her face as she choked on a sob.

"What's wrong with him? Why do you have him tied up?" she snapped hoping to sound intimidating but instead it had come out as an exasperated whine.

Daryl's body jerked at her raised voice and a he let out a brief panicked cry trying to force his body to get up. Maggie noticed how Jesus' eyes widened in alarm at the noise as if he was startled that the man was still able to move.

He grabbed her by the hand and led her a few feet away from the vehicle so they could talk privately.

"Paul what are you doing?!"

When he turned to face her Maggie was surprised by the firmness in his eyes, "Look I know this doesn't look good and more than likely confusing, but I'll explain everything when we get him inside. I just need you to do as I say and-"

She cut him off though clearly having none of the bullshit. "I'm not doing anything until you tell me why you have Daryl tied up like some animal."

With frustrated sigh Paul rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "When I found him he was naked and tied to a hook in a wall he has blood all over him and he…"

Jesus swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Negan whipped him, with a belt from the looks of it. It's so… it's bad."

"He was gagged when I found him and I didn't know it before but as soon as I untied him I realized they did it because of the screaming."

Maggie blinked not understanding, "Screaming?"

Paul simply nodded before resuming his explanation, "He's been hallucinating because of the fever, my guess is he was panicking from some of them. As soon as I got him down he started to fight me, it wasn't much but I was more worried about him hurting himself so I was trying to keep him still. Then he just started screaming for help calling for Rick and … someone named Merle. He was just all over the place I pretty much had to drag him out of the building with my hand over his mouth to try to keep us from getting discovered."

A sudden wave of nausea hit the pregnant woman hard as she fell to her knees and started retching into the grass.

Jesus immediately felt bad, he knew he shouldn't have given so much detail as he watched the woman trying to hold her hair out of the way.

Maggie couldn't believe what she was hearing, oh god she knew Daryl's stay wouldn't have been fun and she had been worried if they'd ever see him again, but she didn't expect anything like this.

Daryl, sweet selfless Daryl, just the thought of the strong man being reduced to something akin to a terrified mouse was nauseating but hearing words that could even insinuate that it'd happened made the feeling increase times three.

She had suddenly become very lightheaded and became vaguely aware of Jesus large hands holding her hair back and the murmur of comforting words as she continued to expel her stomach contents.

 _'Oh god, Daryl.'_

It seemed like forever but eventually she was able to stop and was left coughing and gasping for air as Paul sat patiently.

"I-I'm sorry..." she muttered wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Jesus shook his head vigorously however, "No don't be. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have given you so much detail."

There was a timely pause between the two before Jesus turned his eyes back to the vehicle.

"I gave him something to help calm him down about two hours ago, I'd like to get him moved before it wears off."

Maggie took a deep breath before she nodded her head in agreement and rose to her feet. "What do you need me to do?"

"I can carry him but I'd like you to try to keep his attention he starts to get antsy he's in total fight or flight mode."

Giving the man another nod the two started back to the stolen jeep and stood beside it in silence. Jesus took a moment to glance into the window of the backseat to see how the wounded man was doing.

He was just as he'd left him earlier… almost.. unfortunately he found icy blue eyes staring right back up at him through their fevered haze.

"Guess who's already awake." he muttered aloud quietly.

"Paul wait." Maggie's emotional whisper cut through the dead silence and his thoughts easily.

Giving her his attention he glanced at the woman who stepped forward towards him, "Why don't you let me see him first?"

The statement alone had the bearded man scrambling sideways away from the door out of her way.

With two swift movements Maggie opened the door and glanced down at her dear friend and she once again found herself having to take a deep breath to calm herself as warm tears trickled down her cheeks.

His face was mottled with bruises all over the place but the left side of his face from the temple; his eye, all the way to the top of his jaw was swollen with dark black and blue. It looked like the deep crimson red at the corners of the eye was displaying eye trauma rather obnoxiously where blood vessels had ruptured. Yet both Daryl's blue eyes stared up at her with a mix of so much foreignness that Maggie just wanted to hold him and break down sobbing; fear, pain, confusion, mistrust, and shame.

Those things did not belong there.

 **~ X X X ~**

Everything had been dark and quiet until a few moments ago, now everything was still dark but the air felt and sounded heavy as opposed to the weightless atmosphere he'd just been in just minutes earlier.

His head felt like it weighted a ton, why couldn't he move? Why was his back on fire!

Merle! He had to find Merle! Merle would know what to do for the pain! He always did.

Looking around his surroundings through his distorted vision he was able to put together that he was laying on his stomach across something flat though it wasn't a bed. A cot maybe? No… that smell.. that was leather seats wasn't it.. old leather at that.. was he in a vehicle?

With some effort he was able to turn his face to the side and he could see the silhouettes of a two front seats and the outline of the rear-view mirror near the top of the windshield as full moonlight was directed straight into his sensitive eyes he had to squint.

Okay so he could confirm he was in vehicle, maybe Merle's truck?

Before he could ponder the idea further he heard a click and it took him a moment to register the sound as that of the door in front of his face opening.

He shifted uncomfortably as he found his eyes traveling up the feminine figure upon hearing a vaguely familiar voice… he knew that voice… but he just… couldn't place it.

"Daryl?"

The numbness that had surrounded his body in a thick cloak was starting to wear off and he couldn't help the tears that sprung to his eyes as the pain that tormented him started to become more and more intense.

A hand touching his face shattered his composure as an agonized scream tore free from his throat. "F-Fire!"

The unknown woman shrieked at his response and suddenly both hands were cupping his face and he could barely comprehend the soft cooing and urges being made to be calm.

Be calm! Be calm! How the fuck was he supposed to be calm! He was fucking on fire! Why wasn't she getting something to put the flames out!

"N-No..o….o…. h-help m-me! P-Please I-I… I-'m on… f-fire.. I-I… I'm f-fire… g-god plea...ase!"

 **~ X X X ~**

Maggie jumped back in surprise for a moment at Daryl's unexpected panicked shout.

Her heart just broke and she was immediately on her knees in front of the jeep trying to get him to focus on her face.

"Daryl shh… there's no fire! You're safe it's going to be okay!"

"Maggie I'm sorry, but we have to hurry." She felt Paul's hands hoisting her up to pull her away and frankly she was so shaken she didn't even have the strength to argue as he moved his way to the vehicle.

The other man's body was blocking her view for the most part but she could clearly see how the man was struggling to pull Daryl into his arms.

"Y-You… no… don't touch me! Just le...lemme go! N-Noo! Help! Merle! M-Merle I need ya!"

"Shh, it's alright I won't hurt you."

Maggie was taken aback by how even Paul's voice was in such a hysteric situation but she was more surprised by his composure and delicate approach as he finely was able to pull Daryl out of the backseat before straightening himself.

Daryl was writhing in his grasp despite the fact that it obviously was causing him more pain. "No more please! D-Don't! Please don't... I-I... no it burns!"

"I know Daryl, I'm so sorry but please I need you to be quiet."

"No! I-I ... get away from me! Merle help!"

Maggie watched as Jesus let out an exasperated sigh and shifted his hold on her terrified friend to clasp his hand over his mouth, before looking at her with nothing but desperation. "We don't have time to be careful about who sees us, go wake Doctor Carsen tell him to meet me in his office as soon as possible, I got him, go!" Jesus' ushered and needn't say anything else before she was already running up the path.


End file.
